Welcome to the Sunday Special, running now through the end of the year. Every Sunday, Gilbert Cruz, the editor of The New York Times Book Review, will talk with a rotating cast of Times critics and culture and lifestyle reporters about “the fun stuff”— pop culture, movies, TV, music, fashion and more.

On today’s inaugural episode, Gilbert sits down with Jon Caramanica, a pop music critic at The Times, and Madison Malone Kircher, an internet reporter at The Times, to recap their cultural highs and lows of this summer.

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The acclaimed writer has a new memoir, and a warning.

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• For transcripts and more, visit: nytimes.com/theinterview

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Over the past 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been plunged into turmoil.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to fire the agency’s director, Susan Monarez, igniting a standoff that prompted three other senior officials to resign.

One of those officials, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, explains why he chose to take a stand.

Guest: Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a former director at the C.D.C.

Background reading: 

• The Covid-19 pandemic made the C.D.C. a frequent target of lawmakers and segments of the general public.
• Mr. Kennedy’s move to dismiss Dr. Monarez came after she declined to fire agency leaders or to accept all recommendations from a vaccine advisory panel, according to people with knowledge of the events.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Alyssa Pointer/Reuters

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A curious news story emerged in New York last week. It involved the mayor’s race, a reporter from the news outlet The City and a bag of chips.

Michael Forsythe, a reporter on the investigations team at The New York Times, explains how the episode fits into a larger story about how China has been attempting to influence American politics.

Guest: Michael Forsythe, a reporter on the investigations team at The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• In the past few years, community organizations have quietly foiled the careers of politicians who opposed China’s authoritarian government.
• Times reporters witnessed supporters of the New York mayor, Eric Adams, handing out cash-filled envelopes. Sometimes, that money went to reporters from Chinese-language outlets.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Shuran Huang for The New York Times

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

President Trump’s decision to try to fire a member of the Federal Reserve’s governing board is his most audacious attack yet on the independence of the central bank.

Ben Casselman, chief economics correspondent for The New York Times, discusses why Mr. Trump’s route to controlling the Fed passes through the governor, an economics professor named Lisa Cook.

Guest: Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Trump’s move to fire Ms. Cook is a legally dubious maneuver that could undermine the independence of the nation’s central bank.
• Seeking to retool the Fed, Mr. Trump risks upending a pillar of the global economy.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Seemingly overnight, Americans have become obsessed with pumping as much protein as possible into every drink, snack and meal.

Elizabeth Dunn, a writer and contributor to The Times, explains the origins of this latest nutrition craze.

Guest: Elizabeth Dunn, a writer and contributor to The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The David bar, basically a protein Scud missile wrapped in gold foil, has had breakout success. But can the trend last?
• Read a fact-check about some of the big claims made about protein.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: David Chow for The New York Times

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The race to dominate artificial intelligence has become a scramble for talent, with tech companies offering pay packages of $250 million and poaching their competitors’ best employees.

Mike Isaac, who covers the tech sector for The Times, explains why all the hype is raising fears that A.I. could become the next big bubble.

Guest: Mike Isaac, a New York Times reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering tech companies and Silicon Valley.

Background reading: 

• To navigate the recruitment frenzy, many A.I. researchers have turned to unofficial agents to strategize.
• Life for workers at Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies has changed as the behemoth firms have aged into large bureaucracies.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Photo Illustration by Ihor Lukianenko, via Getty Images

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Stories of romantic love are everywhere, but the actor, singer and comedian Bridget Everett says that friendships deserve our attention, too. Onscreen and in everyday life.

Last Fall, Everett appeared on Modern Love to talk about her HBO Original series “Somebody Somewhere,” which centers on a close friendship. Now she’s nominated for an Emmy Award for writing the show, along with Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen.

In “Somebody Somewhere,” Everett stars as Sam, a woman struggling with grief and self-doubt after losing her sister. As Sam grows closer to her friend Joel — played by Jeff Hiller, an Outstanding Supporting Actor nominee — the future starts to look more bearable.

In this episode of Modern Love, Everett tells Anna Martin why she’s looking for a friendship like the one Sam and Joel have on the show. She also reads a Modern Love essay called “When Your Greatest Romance Is a Friendship,” by Victor Lodato. Lodato was in his 40s when he fell into a platonic life partnership with an artist in her 80s, who lived across the street.

In April 2024, Lodato published “Honey,” a novel inspired by Austin Brayfield, the friend he wrote about in his essay.

Find new episodes of Modern Love every Wednesday. Follow the show wherever you get your podcasts: 

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadio

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Texas is about to gerrymander five new house seats, and California is ready to retaliate. Gov. Gavin Newsom says that his state will also redraw its congressional maps to create five new districts, effectively fighting fire with fire.

Laurel Rosenhall, who covers California’s government and politics, discusses whether the state’s voters will actually go for this plan, whether it’ll work if they do, and what is at stake either way.

Guest: Laurel Rosenhall, a New York Times reporter covering California politics and government.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Newsom and Democratic state lawmakers moved quickly to create new districts that could help their party flip five congressional seats.
• The Texas House approved a congressional map intended to help Republicans win five more U.S. House seats.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.